J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Far Queue

I have one booked for Kitzbuhel going on the 4th Feb :)

Am now looking at somewhere in Italy for 1st or 2nd week of Jan.

Look on the bright side, the scenery is fantastic whichever route you take.... assuming you arrive in daylight hours :P

:D

Equally, it looks like it is just 20 minutes in a Helicopter.

Have you contemplated contacting these guys just to see how expensive it really is http://www.saf-helicopters.com/en/saf_helicopteres/transport_passagers/vols_liaisons_stations_alpes_helicopteres.php#

Smokey Barr wrote:Sorry, I'm probably being a bit stupid here, but what's a pass?

I've looked at both routes, and the roads from Chambery, seem very similar to those from Turin. Why would they be shut?

Bandit - The route I was looking at was Turino-Avigliana-Susa-Novalesa....

I'm beginning to think this could be a bloody nightmare. And I didn't take out insurance on changing tickets... doh!

Hi Smokey. A pass, is simply put a shortened version of a mountain pass. All this means, is a route where you can go through a mountain range from one side to another. Sometimes these are large valleys, but on others they are narrow openings at altitude between peaks.

Unless it is a very busy crossing, and on a well made road, these high passes are often left to nature during the winter and are closed due to them being snow bound, or because the roads to get to them become too dangerous with ice.

Sadly, the route you suggested above would go through the Iseran pass after Novalesa (not sure which passes would be needed to get to Novalessa to start with) which is the highest paved mountain pass in the Alps at 2770m and I have never seen it open in the ski season.

I don't know if there is a shorter route, but I would be looking at the following, especially if you cannot cross at La Thuile. Google Map Via Mont Blanc or Google Map via Bardonecchia

pavelski wrote:I forgot the most important aspect related to ICE !

At end of ski day ICE is great for;

-great to drop into front of girlfriend's blouse


Pavel

Now that really is a great use for ice :twisted:

Many seasons ago, we used a large chunk of ice instead of a ball to play rugby on the way home from a nightclub. Sadly, my friend completely missed a pass and was smacked in the face with this chunk of ice. In our drunken stupor we found this hilarious. However the following morning, my friend had to have 18 stitches inserted into his nose and cheek :shock:

To this day his girlfriend still thinks we got into a fight and will not believe how it happened.

That was end of Jan 2010, going into first week of Feb.

:( I would not go back to Bulgaria sad to say. Smoking in Andorra is nowhere near as bad as it was in Bulgaria.

Hi sm4sh,

I was out in Soldeu two seasons ago. I really enjoyed it and thought the skiing area was pretty good, with excellent variety to suit most of our group, which ranged from beginners to reasonable skiers.

If you want to have a look, here are my photos from the trip on facebook.. Click Here :)

The only thing I did have a slight issue with, was that they still smoke in the bars :( Took me back to the bad old days. Otherwise I would be happy to go back.

Hi Smokey.

Not actually done this direct trip, but my thoughts on it are similar to the others. I suspect in ski season, most of the passes will be closed leading you to do a big detour.

I would have thought that if it was a viable option, then the TO's would use Turin more than they currently do. Mainly used for the Italian resorts only.

Is that saving per person or overall? If you have to use the MontBlanc tunnel, that will cost you a bit each way, so may eat into your savings.

Perhaps you could consider staying in Italy and trying a different resort, it is often cheaper than France.

Also, if you are going to drive, it is not that much further from Lyon. I am pretty sure most of the flights there will be cheaper than Chambery as well. Have you checked those out?